Second Gambit
by 1000 Cherry Blossoms
Summary: When he lost everything he held dear, he wished for a second chance to redeem himself. After he dies to bring peace to the world, his wish was granted. Since Lelouch came in terms with his past mistakes, flaws and sins, will he be able to make up for them? This is his second gambit, his second chance at life to rectify his wrongs. Note: Important changes added to chapter 3.
1. The Demon's Renaissance

That horrible smell was overwhelming. It was a stench that he recognized all too well: The fetidness of blood. His lips formed into a deep frown; why was he smelling blood? The place he was in right now shouldn't have blood in it…

… Wait. Was he even in _that place?_ According to _that man,_ the souls of those who have lost their lives go to C's World, so there can't be any blood in there, right?

His eyelids slowly opened. His vision was blurry at first, but as he blinked his eyes few times, he saw a dark gray ceiling. He blinked his eyes few more times; he was sure that C's World didn't have a gray ceiling, only an object that looked like the planet Jupiter.

When he realized what he was seeing wasn't caused by his blurry vision, he slowly went into a sitting position to look around him. The young man's violet eyes narrowed in shock at the sight he saw. He was surrounded by dead bodies, which explained the awful odor that came from the blood.

As he examined the bodies, he noticed that most of them belonged to Japanese people, while few others belonged to Britannians wearing the uniforms of Clovis' Royal Guard… and then there was a certain green-haired witch who was surrounded by a pool of her own blood with a bullet hole in her forehead.

No… this can't be happening… this could not possibly happen. There was no way something like this would happen! He put his hand on his forehead, trying to grasp the absurdity of the situation he was in. Sweat began running down his face, and his breathing became heavy.

 _I'm… back to the past…?_ That was impossible in many ways. Time-Travel was something that existed only in fiction… or so he thought. Not to mention that he used his Geass on the Collective Unconsciousness to make the march of time continue. So... why was he back in time?

He shook his head violently. Things were very confusing for him now, but thinking too much about it will only be a waste of his time. He looked back at the 'lifeless' body of the green-haired woman. _If C.C remembers about the future, then I hope she has an explanation to how this happened,_ He then scowled as his eyes hardened. _But if she doesn't remember…_ Lelouch paused before slowly standing up, and just after that, the wall in front of him crashed.

* * *

 **The Demon's Renaissance**

The young man was glaring daggers at what appeared from behind the wall. It was a purple Knightmare Frame that goes by the name Sutherland. He knows who the mecha's pilot is, though. A power-hungry, bronze-skinned woman and one of the very few members of the Purist Faction who remained loyal to 'Orange' after the Orange Skirmish.

However, even though she was one of Jeremiah's most loyal subordinates, she caused him no little amount of grief in his previous life. First, she used his traumatized friend who had just lost her father because of his actions in order to capture him, which eventually led to her own death. Second, she shot his second-in-command officer during the Black Rebellion and that resulted in its failure and his capture at the hands of his best friend. And lastly, she has convinced the very man she had shot along with the rest of his allies to betray him.

He once thought of an option regarding what to do with Villetta, but now he changed his mind.

"What happened in here, boy?" She demanded. "And what is a Britannian student doing here anyway?!"

The former prince merely raised his hands up in the air, following the script from the previous timeline. "My name is Allan Spacer, and I'm the son of a Duke," He said. "I request your protection and I can assure you that my father will reward you handsomely for helping me." He smiled inwardly, knowing well enough about Villetta's obsession with nobility.

"R-Really?" She stuttered.

"Yes," The boy replied with a nod, his smile now visible on his lips. "He might even convince the Emperor to grant you a rank of nobility… that is if you are interested."

"O-Of course!" But then, a frown immediately appeared on the tan-skinned woman's face. "However, if I find out that you were lying, I will execute you for impersonating the identity of a nobleman in a war zone."

The violet-eyed boy's smile widened. _So cautious. But…_ "You can find my ID card in my breast pocket," He proclaimed. "This will confirm my identity."

She descended from her Knightmare and walked to the raven-haired youth, holding a pistol in her hand and pointing it at him. "Keep your hands in the air where I could see them until I confirm your identity."

His smile turned into a smirk as his left eye turned crimson red with a bird symbol in it. "I don't think so," He said. "Hand over your Knightmare and your handgun."

All of a sudden, she lost her will as she tossed her key and gun to the boy and then told him the code of the frame. As soon as the gun landed in his hand, the expression on the raven-haired boy's face turned into a dark one. He immediately pointed the weapon at the older woman, and without hesitation, shot a single bullet that penetrated her skull; her body fell on the ground with a thud.

The teen-aged Britannian immediately took out his cellphone and activated his Geass once more. He saw that the power only flared in his left eye, and he sighed in relief. _Thank goodness it has returned to its initial state. Otherwise, I don't know how I will deal with it without the contact lenses that block it.  
_

He then proceeded to holster the keys and the gun in his pocket before picking up the green-haired woman in bridal style. As he walked towards the Sutherland, he found himself lost in thought. _Forgive me for what I did, Ohgi,_ The young Britannian told himself as a grimace appeared on his face again. _But it will be for the best if you never meet this woman again. She made you keep secrets from me despite what Kirihara said, and then convinced you to make irrational decisions._ He shook his head and sighed. _Well, I suppose it is partially my fault for keeping secrets from you and everyone else, but that doesn't mean you should have believed her so easily along with Schneizel._

The raven-haired boy climbed into the Knightmare and placed the green-haired woman behind his seat. He then sped off towards the battlefield.

A short while later, a groan caused him to turn back; the eyelids of the woman were twitching before she slowly opened them. The former prince smiled before turning away. The woman looked around her and found out that she was inside a Knightmare; the one who was piloting the machine was the young man she has given a Geass to. "I'm surprised that you have picked up a woman who was shot in the forehead," She said. "Were you going to give me a proper burial?"

While it's true that he missed C.C's snarky remarks, what she has said made him frown as it confirmed to him that the witch doesn't remember anything from the previous timeline. After all, C.C would surely remember that he didn't pick her up in the past as he thought that she was truly dead. "No. I actually knew that you weren't dead."

"Oh?" The green-haired woman raised an eyebrow, not amused. "And may I ask how did you figure out that I wasn't dead?"

"Well, you did grab my hand after you were shot," The raven-haired boy responded. "And as a result, you have given me the power known as Geass."

Even though he couldn't see her, the former prince of Britannia knew that she had her infamous smirk on her face. "My, aren't you such an intelligent boy?" She asked while still keeping her smile. "May I inquire about the name of my contractee?"

 _Contractee…now that's a nice one._ He smirked in amusement. "Lelouch, Lelouch Lamperouge."

"Hoh?" The woman raised an eyebrow again. "An alliterate name? How nice."

"And what is the name of my contractor?"

"You may call me C.C."

"C.C?" He repeated. "Is that even a human name?"

C.C just shrugged. "That's not my real name and I don't like using it anyway," She then leaned closer to him. "So, do you like the power I gave you?"

 _Well, not really, but I do need it._ "Yes, I do."

"What are you going to do with it?"

"Right now, I'm not going to use it because I'm going to help the resistance group here in Shinjuku fight against the Viceroy's forces."

"Really?" The green-haired woman inquired, raising an eyebrow once more. "And why would a Britannian student help a group of Eleven terrorists in their fight against his countrymen?"

"I have my plausible reasons for that."

"Being all mysterious, aren't we?"

He just smirked. "Being mysterious is one of my favorite hobbies."

She also smirked in amusement. _You have an interesting son, Marianne._

Lelouch then remembered something and took out his cellphone from his pocket. His hand was trembling and C.C noticed that. "Is something the matter?"

"No." He dialed a number as he found himself in anguish thoughts. The young man put the phone on his left ear as he waited for the person he had called to answer. After almost a minute, the call was answered. "Hello?"

 _"Master Lelouch, how can I help you?"_

"Sayoko, I want you to tell my sister to have dinner without me," Lelouch said. "I'm going to be late tonight."

 _"As you wish."_

After he hung up, he looked down with a downcast expression on his face. _Nunnally…_ He was pained and despaired by what happened between the both of them towards the end of his life as they both parted off on bad terms... yet he felt as if she told him that she loved him in his dying breath.

"You seem to be getting depressed a lot."

The former prince snapped out of his thoughts. "I was… remembering some bad things that happened to me."

The witch remained silent for a while and only observed the young man with her ever expressionless face. "Reminiscing about unpleasant memories when you're about to enter a battle will only help in hindering you."

The raven-haired teen felt a smile appear on his face. _You were always like that._ "You're right." He picked up the walkie-talkie in order to contact a certain red-haired ace pilot. "The west entrance. Use the tracks to move to the west entrance."

 _"Who is this?! How do you know this code?!"_

The former eleventh prince flinched at the tone. Only two possibilities ran through the mind of the boy: One, she doesn't remember anything about the previous timeline like C.C. Two, she remembers everything that happened in his past life, but is pretending to not know anything because she doesn't know whether he remembers anything from the original timeline or not. He honestly hoped for the latter, but he still wasn't sure how was he was going to confront Kallen if that turned out to be true...

"It doesn't matter who I am right now," He stated. "If you want to emerge victorious against the Britannian forces, you have to follow my orders."

* * *

The battle between Lelouch's forces and the Viceroy's forces went similarly to the battle from the original timeline. The younger son of the Emperor knew that his older half-brother wasn't a strategist or a tactician, so there was no need to change the strategy he has previously used.

… Or there was a change that has to be made? "To all forces! Retreat as fast as you can!" He ordered while using his charismatic and authoritative voice. "The Britannian forces are going to send in more reinforcements! We won't be able to defeat them with our minimum numbers! Make sure to hide your Sutherlands properly! Is that clear?"

 _"Yes!"_

* * *

A brown-haired Japanese young man was piloting a Knightmare with a confused look on his face. He was told that terrorists were wreaking havoc in Shinjuku, but he has yet to encounter a single unit. "Where are they…?"

A young woman with purple hair appeared in the screen in front of him. _"Private Kururugi, if you still couldn't find any terrorists, please return to the base."_

"Yes, ma'am."

* * *

From afar, Lelouch and C.C were watching a massive white Knightmare roaming the ghetto. They were both wearing foot soldiers' uniforms.

"I never expected the reinforcements to be only one unit." The green-haired immortal remarked.

"Yeah, it sure looks like a powerful Knightmare, doesn't it?"

The witch just shrugged. "Whatever," As she walked behind the young man, she asked him yet another question. "Why did you make me wear this uniform anyway?"

"It will be easier for us to sneak into the Viceroy's base with these on."

"Are you going to torture Clovis to death?"

"You're going to like that, aren't you?" He inquired back with a smirk. "But to answer your question, no. I'm actually going to spare his life."

For the first time in a long time, the woman couldn't hide the shock that was apparent in her golden eyes, and that actually amused the teenaged boy. Just what was he thinking? Sparing the life of the man who has killed countless of innocent people and most importantly, made human experiments on her?

 **TBC…**

* * *

 **There is something you must know about me. I. Suck. At. Knightmare. Battles. Big. Time. Yeah. So any help is very much appreciated.**

 **I hope you have enjoyed the first chapter. Review please!**


	2. Deviations

**Thanks for the reviews, everyone! I really appreciate them :D**

* * *

Upon entering the house with C.C, Lelouch saw his precious sister folding paper cranes with his Japanese maid. Both females raised their heads to greet Lelouch with smiling faces, but when the maid saw the immortal woman, her smile disappeared and raised an eyebrow in confusion at the newcomer. Not only that, but her master's body was trembling, and he looked like he was on the verge of crying. The green-haired woman couldn't understand the behavior of this boy at all. He was acting as if he hadn't seen his sister in years.

"Welcome home, Lelouch," The crippled and blind girl greeted her brother with a sweet smile. "Miss Sayoko left you some food in the microwave, or have you eaten outside?"

"Master Lelouch, are you alright?" Sayoko asked in concern.

The sandy-brown-haired girl frowned. "Is something wrong with Big Brother?"

Immediately after that question, the former Britannian prince couldn't contain himself any longer and he hugged his beloved sister so tightly and sobbed, repeating 'Sorry, Nunnally' over and over again. Naturally, everyone was confused by this action. When the raven-haired boy broke the embrace, he saw a very confused and concerned scowl on the face of his younger sister. He grimaced and clenched his fist tightly. _Way to go, Lelouch,_ He told himself in anger. _How could you make her sad again after all the things you've put her through?!_ The violet-eyed young man managed a smile on his face, wiping the tears from his eyes. "It's nothing, Nunnally," He assured her and then looked down to think of something as an excuse to tell her. "I had a rather disturbing dream when I was napping in the afternoon today... about you being separated from me..."

Surprisingly, a genuine smile appeared on his dear sister's face as she held his hands reassuringly. "You shouldn't nap so often in the afternoon, Lelouch," She advised. "I did that once and dreamed about Pendragon getting flooded by a tsunami of empty soft drink cans."

The young man couldn't help but laugh at that; his grief forgotten momentarily. The Japanese maid also laughed at such a strange but amusing dream, and the immortal witch couldn't help but smirk in amusement. The crippled girl giggled before turning her head to the green-haired woman's direction. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend, Big Brother?"

Everyone's eyes widened in stun at what they heard; no one looked more shocked than C.C herself, but she was the first one to recover and her smug smirk soon returned to her face. "My, I am surprised that you have noticed my presence, Nunnally," She said. "I'm C.C, and Lelouch and I have plans for the future."

A frown made its way to the sandy-haired girl's lips; while she found it funny that someone would go by their initials, what the woman said about Lelouch and herself caught Nunnally off-guard. Sayoko was equally disturbed by this, and her suspicions of the woman grew. An annoyed expression appeared on Lelouch's face as he made a side glance to his accomplice. "Isn't it a bit early for that, Lelouch?"

"Don't be bothered by what C.C said, Nunnally," He said. "She's only joking." _And now she's going to deny that._

"I don't joke."

 _Just as I thought._ "Then can you please enlighten me, C.C?" He asked with folded arms.

The sandy-haired girl turned to her brother with a frown. "You mean you don't know about her plans either, Lelouch?"

"No, I don't."

The witch folded her arms. "Fine then," She turned her head to the crippled girl's direction. "I gave your brother a power called Geass and in return for giving him this power, he must fulfill my one wish."

Horror washed on the face of the violet-eyed teen, and he froze in shock at what C.C said. He gritted his teeth in rage, and his clenched fists shook. _Damn it, C.C!_ _  
_

The look of shock didn't go unnoticed by the maid, and the blind princess had a blank expression on her face before she giggled. "You're actually a very good joker, Miss C.C!"

Cue the poker-faced looks on both of Lelouch and C.C's mugs. They certainly did not see that coming. Soon afterwards, the older brother began chuckling with his sister. "See? I told you that C.C was only joking."

Nunnally stopped giggling before gesturing to the brunette to wheel her away. Sayoko obliged. "Sorry for being curious about your future plans," She apologized. "I will wait until you're both ready to tell me about them." The Japanese woman wheeled the fourteen-year-old out of the room.

Her brother couldn't help but face palm while the witch smirked.

 _A power called Geass, huh?_ The maid cast a glance back at her Master and his new companion. _Looks like we need to talk, Master Lelouch._

* * *

 **Deviations**

In his room, C.C immediately threw herself on Lelouch's bed. The boy merely folded his arms, even though he had already gotten used to the witch's behavior. "So, what questions do you have for me?" She asked while looking at the ceiling.

A foxy grin appeared on the young man's handsome mug as he sat down on a chair. _Glad you've asked._ "Many actually," He responded. "When you grabbed my hand, my mind was flooded with many things, but the thing that intrigued me the most was the appearance of Emperor Charles talking about something called Ragnarok," The young prince put a hand under his chin in thought. "Why did His Majesty appear in these... slideshows? Does this mean that he knows about Geass? Does he have a Geass of his own? And what is this 'Ragnarok' he was talking about?"

The immortal woman remained silent while still lying on her back, not even sparing a glance at the raven-haired boy. The young man smirked once again; this was payback for all the times she outwitted him. After a while of silence, she took a sitting position, smiling at the teenager. "My, your power of perception never ceases to amuse me," Her smile turned into her infamous smirk. "As a reward for your keen intellect, I will answer one of your questions," Her smirk dropped, and her face turned serious all of a sudden. "Charles does indeed have a Geass of his own."

"Charles?" He repeated, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't know that the both of you were this close."

She just shrugged. "We are not."

 _Riiiiight..._ He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "So, can His Majesty control anyone to do his bidding?" He inquired. He of course knew what type of Geass his father had, but because he didn't want C.C to know about the previous timeline, he had to act as if he doesn't know anything.

The green-haired woman shook her head. "No," She simply replied, but that wasn't the full answer. "Geass manifests itself in a person based on their personalities and desires."

"Oh, really?" The boy raised an eyebrow boringly. "If that's the case, then I find it hard to believe that his Majesty doesn't have a Geass like mine."

The golden-eyed witch raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"Emperor Charles is someone who likes to conquer other countries, turning them into colonies of his 'glorious' empire," He began. "The natives of these colonized nations are turned into second-class citizens known as Numbers, and they suffer all kinds of mistreatment from the Britannians," He looked down, clenching his fists. "They become slaves for these Britannians."

"So what you're trying to say is that since Charles controls other countries then his Geass must be like yours?"

"Well, you did say that Geass manifests itself in a person based on how they are and what they want."

C.C became quiet for a moment before chuckling lightly. "You really don't know anything now, do you?"

"Do I not know what exactly?" But he knows EVERYTHING.

Once again, the witched shrugged. "Figure it out on your own."

"Does that mean you won't tell me what type of Geass the Emperor possesses?"

"I am not obliged to tell you."

"And that also means you won't tell me anything about Ragnarok either?"

"Nope."

He then stood up, stretched his body and rubbed the back of his head. "You refuse to tell me more, but don't think I'll let you off the hook just yet."

The woman rolled her eyes. "There is something that caught my attention about what you said regarding Charles."

"What is it?"

"It was obvious that you were disgusted by the fact that Charles conquers other countries, enslaving their citizens in the process," She started. "So, does that mean you feel the same way about your Geass as well? I mean mind controlling people and telling them to do your bidding is nothing short of enslavement." She folded her arms. "And that's after you told me that you like the power."

A dark scowl appeared on Lelouch's face as he remained silent for a moment. "I did like it at first," He began. "But as I look at it now, I find it quite despicable," He clenched his fist before turning to her. "Regardless, I will never regret accepting it from you." _Not ever._ The young man stood up and walked to his closet, taking out a white blanket from it. "You can sleep in my room. I will sleep outside on the couch."

"Hoh?" The lime-haired witch raised an eyebrow, and then smirked in bemusement. "And here I thought I was going to tell you to sleep on the floor." She shrugged. "Well, I guess you're such a gentleman for letting a woman that you don't know anything about have your entire room for herself."

"It's still my room, C.C," He pointed out to her. "I can return to it whenever I want to. As you said, I'm just being a gentleman." The Britannian prince walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. Outside his room, he leaned on the door and looked up at the ceiling. _Those barriers you have built around your heart for centuries... I'll surely break them once again._ He tightened his fist. _That is a promise from me._

Inside the room, the golden-eyed woman was staring at the door with a stoic expression before her infamous smirk appeared on her face. "Your son is indeed interesting, Marianne."

Lelouch walked to his sister's room; Sayoko left the room and smiled at her master. "Master Lelouch, Lady Nunnally is waiting for you to wish her good night," She simply said as she passed by him, but then stopped with a serious expression on her face. "Master?" He stopped as well, but did not turn to face her. "May I speak with you about something after you wish Lady Nunnally good night?"

The violet-eyed Britannian frowned; he didn't hide his shock at what C.C said to Nunnally very well, it seems... "Sure thing." He said before entering his sister's room.

* * *

After wishing his sister good night, the young raven-haired prince went out of her room to see his Japanese maid waiting for him. Instead of her usual kind smile, she was wearing a passive expression on her face. He walked to her direction and then took a seat. "So, what do you want to talk with me about, Sayoko?"

"Master Lelouch... who is that woman?" She inquired, worry was evident in her voice. "And what is this Geass power she was talking about?"

The teenaged Britannian sighed. "Fine. I'll tell you everything."

And so he told his maid about the massacre that transpired in Shinjuku, about C.C's immortality and the Geass power she bestowed to him. Even though he trusted the Japanese woman greatly, he refrained from telling her about the fact that he came from the future because, well, it was preposterous and very hard to believe. Not to mention that he has yet to find out how and why he was sent back to the very beginning in the first place. He also told her about him beginning his quest against his father.

"That's why I need you to help me in this, Sayoko."

The brunette looked down with a downcast look on her face. The thin male assumed that look was of someone who was worried about someone whom they cared about. She remained silent for a while before nodding. "What is my task, Master?"

He smirked at her and then his face turned serious. "First and foremost, you must protect Nunnally," He ordered. "Not all the time, of course, but when she's not in school. You must not leave her alone at home when I'm not around. When you're out shopping... take her with you."

The maid pouted at the last command, clearly not expecting something like this. She thought it was a bad idea. "But Master... I'm an Eleven-"

"You're a Japanese, Sayoko," He corrected her firmly. "And you should be proud of yourself for that. You must never let those racist Britannian pigs put you down because of your lineage. They will already deduce that you're Nunnally's maid, which is the case, so it's alright." He smiled genuinely at her.

Sayoko's eyes narrowed, touched by her master's words of encouragement. She nodded enthusiastically at him. "Yes, my lord."

The former prince of Britannia put his hand under his chin and looked up. "Hmm, what else?" After a short while of thinking, he cringed as he remembered something very, VERY important. "Sayoko... I must inform you that I am not a playboy or an athlete."

She blinked her eyes and tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

He sighed. "It means that you will be posing as my double and you must stick to my personality when you're playing that role," He clarified. "If people see me doing acrobatic moves or dating one hundred and eight girls from my school, they will get suspicious." He certainly did not want to go through that 'experience' again.

She nodded at him. "I understand," She then frowned and looked at his room. "But to be honest with you, Master, I don't trust that woman."

"I don't trust her either, Sayoko," _I can't give her my full trust now like I did last._ "But she can be useful to me." It actually hurt him to say that...

* * *

Elsewhere, a turquoise-haired man was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. In this day, he lost one of his most loyal subordinates, Villetta Nu. Those filthy Elevens... not only they have killed Prince Lelouch and Princess Nunnally, but they have also killed Villetta. Jeremiah would gladly go back and annihilate every single one of them again... if it wasn't for Prince Clovis's strange behavior and even stranger announcement...

* * *

Earlier that day...

The Margrave hurried towards the G-1 base, wondering why His Highness would call a ceasefire and order the troops to treat the Elevens. He presumed that someone must have somehow made their way towards the base and threatened the Viceroy. _But if that was the case, then...!_ The orange-eyed man gritted his teeth in frustration. He will not let any member of the Royal Family die again, not after his failure of protecting Lady Marianne.

"Your Highness!" He burst into the throne room, only to see the blond prince safe and sound. Clovis was also surrounded by a chubby dark-skinned man and some of the other generals. Jeremiah let out a loud sigh of relief before composing himself and making his way towards his prince. He crossed his arm in front of his breast and bowed. "Your Highness, I cannot express to you how much I am delighted to see that you are well."

"Why?" The blue-eyed prince asked nonchalantly. "As you can see, Jeremiah, I am surrounded by my men, so there was no need for your concern," Clovis made a small smile. "Though I appreciate it."

The turquoise-haired man blinked his eyes before nodding slowly. "Thank you, Your Highness," A small scowl appeared on the Purist's mouth. "If you do not mind me asking, Your Highness, why did you order us to treat the Elevens?"

"I have realized that they are innocent people," Replied the Britannian prince coolly. "They don't deserve to be killed."

Orange eyes narrowed in shock, and the same expression appeared on the chubby man's face, as well as the rest of the generals. _His Highness is saying that after he ordered us to not leave anyone alive...?_ That was indeed strange in many ways.

"By the way," The twenty-four-year old prince said, snapping the loyal purist out of his muses and also grabbing the rest of the room's occupiers' attention. "All of you will not bother looking for the poison gas or the terrorists who stole it."

Cue the shocked faces once again. What was the Viceroy thinking, making a decision like that?! "With all due respect, Your Highness, will it not be unwise to leave such a highly dangerous weapon in the possession of some Eleven terrorists?"

"I highly doubt that the terrorists will use the poison gas on their own brethren," The blond prince responded. "Besides, I don't believe they will do anything for a while after seeing Lloyd's 'toy'. Have you seen how they went into hiding after it appeared?" He shook his head and chuckled. "Elevens are really cowards."

 _Seeing a Knightmare Frame they have never seen before doesn't mean that they will not continue their terrorism, Your Highness._ His frown returned once again. _Besides, they went into hiding BEFORE the new Knightmare Frame appeared._

* * *

Jeremiah sighed and rolled to his side. How could have the Elevens known about the new Knightmare Frame? Or maybe they knew that reinforcements were coming and went into hiding... but in all of those years of him fighting the Elevens, he never came across a group of terrorists that made a tactical retreat...

And since Prince Clovis ordered the massacre on the Elevens, why did he also tell the Britannian troops to treat them?! That was a contradiction on part of the prince. And since when did he think of them as innocent, especially after what they did to Prince Lelouch and Princess Nunnally?! Moreover, Prince Clovis would never let some terrorists have their hands on a dangerous weapon, and he will certainly not guarantee that the terrorists will not pull another heist or any of their other shenanigans.

Maybe he was right all along; maybe someone DID somehow find their way to His Highness and threatened to kill him if he doesn't abide to what they say... and it is possible that this person was also the one leading the terrorists against them. No wonder they took the upper hand before the new KMF appeared. But the question is: Who are they?

The Margrave shook his head. Thinking too much about it will prevent him from sleeping. He must confront the blond prince tomorrow. Otherwise, Clovis' unwise decisions may lead into the prince's demotion and possible disinheritance, something that the artistic prince doesn't want to happen to himself.

* * *

Lelouch got a total of five hours of sleep, and they weren't enough for him. Yawning, the young man slowly dragged himself to his room. As he opened the door, he saw the sleeping form of C.C on his bed. He walked towards her and smiled; she looked so peaceful in her sleep. Slowly opening the closet, he took out a clean school uniform.

He was the first one to arrive at the Student Council's clubhouse, which was unusual as he was one of the people to arrive last. The raven-haired teen was holding a cup of coffee in his hand, probably to keep himself from falling asleep and to have some energy for the rest of the day.

As he opened the door, a happy smile appeared on his lips as his violet eyes glimmered. _How nostalgic..._

About ten minutes later, the door of the clubhouse opened, revealing a tall, orange-haired and olive-eyed young lady. As soon as his eyes met hers, they narrowed; he was on the verge of shedding tears. "Shirley..." He whispered her name.

The girl only put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot annoyingly, puffing her cheeks. "I hope your early arrival to the clubhouse is to make up for your skipping classes yesterday."

The violet-eyed royal snapped out of his state. "Uh... yeah," He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry about that, Shirley."

The teenaged girl let out a sigh; a small frown appeared on her face. "You're a smart guy, Lulu," She told him. "Why don't you apply yourself to your studies instead of wasting your gift on stupid things like gambling?"

The tall male chuckled lightly and then stared at her as another wave of nostalgia hit him. To see Shirley scold him again was something he had also missed... and this time, he will make sure that her scolding of him continues for a long time.

"Um, Lulu? Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked him while raising an eyebrow, fighting a blush from appearing on her face.

"H-Huh?" The male student snapped out of it and shook his head, smiling warmly at her. "Nothing. I just like it when you scold me." Immediately after that last statement, violet eyes went wide in embarrassment. A vivid red blush appeared on his face. _Damn it, Lelouch! Why did you have to say such a thing?!_

An even redder shade of red appeared on the olive-eyed girl's mug. What happened to Lulu? "Since when you became such a masochist?!" She asked in horrified embarrassment.

He sighed loudly and shook his head. "Please don't tell Madame Prez," Lelouch begged. "I'm just tired from not sleeping enough."

The blush slowly disappeared from Shirley's face as she folded her arms. "I hope so..." _Just what happened with him yesterday?_

Later on, all of the members of the council were seen balancing the budgets of the school clubs. After some small arguments, Lelouch blocked his ears for what was coming next.

"GUTS!" The female blonde president shouted at the top of her lungs, causing everyone else to wince.

After removing his hands from his ears, the young Britannian prince chuckled lightly; yet another nostalgic thing that he had truly missed. Violet eyes glimmered in happiness; even though these events were silly, he never knew how much they meant to him, until he lost everything...

"See? Even our dear Lelouch agrees on that." The president chuckled.

The young man looked up in confusion to see a mischievous grin on the blonde bombshell's face and Shirley covering her chest, a very vivid red blush was on her face. It was obvious that Millly said something that embarrassed her.

"Lulu!" The olive-eyed girl growled.

"What?" He asked in confusion.

"Our dear Vice-President has finally gotten out of his closet."

"What?!" He retorted angrily, a furious and embarrassed blush appearing on his face.

"Oh come on, Lelouch," The tall young woman said, winking. "You were smiling when I commented on how more developed Shirley became."

A loud groan was let out from the mouth of the Vice-President as he face-palmed, and Shirley's entire face turned red as a fresh tomato, feeling totally embarrassed. Well, it seems that there was something that he did not miss after all.

* * *

Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald walked stridently towards the Viceroy's office, a firm expression was on his mug. As he neared the office, he heard Bartley complaining to His Highness.

"Y-Your Highness," The turquoise-haired man heard the chubby man stutter. "Leaving that girl in the hands of Eleven terrorists is a very careless move. You know that she is an important thing in Code-R. In fact, she is the most pivotal thing needed for the project."

Marianne's former guard blinked in confusion. Girl? Code-R? What was Bartley talking about? But soon enough, realization hit him like a flood. Stunned, Jeremiah barely contained his gasp. _The thing that was in the container... was a girl? It wasn't poison gas?!_ Just what was so special about this girl anyway? And what the heck is Code-R?! Some secret project that Prince Clovis was working on with Bartley?

"Calm yourself, Bartley," The purists' leader heard the prince say. "Like I told you before, since the Elevens believe that the container has poison gas in it, they will never open it."

"But we still need the girl for the project!"

Just then, a knock was heard on the door and Jeremiah entered after hearing the affirmation. He bowed. "Your Highness, I hope I did not interrupt something."

"Not at all, Jeremiah," The prince assured him. "Did you need something?"

"I have been wondering, Your Highness, did someone sneak into the base yesterday and threatened you?"

The young prince remained silent for a short period of time; the expression on his delicate features was passive, and that worried the Margrave a bit. The prince then replied. "Yes, I was indeed visited by someone yesterday."

The orange-eyed man blinked his eyes. _Visited?_ That was an interesting choice of words...

* * *

Just like last time, no news of what truly happened in Shinjuku was shown, only news of a poison gas leak and photos of dead Japanese people. Propaganda, that was the basis of Britannian media. Oh well, it can't be helped at this point of time.

As Lelouch entered the classroom, he saw a red-haired, blue-eyed female student laughing with her 'friends'. He felt a tinge of sadness as he looked at her, remembering how their relationship ended last time. _But it was for her own good,_ He stated in his mind in sorrow. _I had to protect her at all costs because I didn't want her to meet the same fate as Shirley... even if it meant that she would hate me for as long as she lived._ But, did she really hate him? Maybe she did after he 'ruled the world', but during the execution parade, very few seconds before his killer stabbed him, he thought he heard her scream at the top of her lungs, telling the assassin to stop, which may mean that she had figured out his plan...

And then his blue-haired friend had to ruin his thought process regarding Kallen by asking if the raven-haired boy liked her. The former prince frowned and shook his head. "Rivalz, I have barely seen her since the beginning of the semester," He stated. "And I didn't even strike a single conversation with her. How can I like someone that I don't know anything about?"

His friend just put his hands behind the back of his head casually and leaned backwards. "Well, she does come from the Stadtfeld noble family, which means that she's well-bred and rolling in money," He said with a grin. "But I heard that she's suffering from an illness, and that's why she's been skipping classes, yet her grades remain among the highest of the class. Though I think she's a bit sheltered."

"Thank you for the information, Rivalz," The violet-eyed young man said sarcastically. "You may become a top spy one day."

The shorter boy chuckled before making his hands look like a pistol. "My name is Cardemonde, Rivalz Cardemonde."

Lelouch merely shook his head as he went back into observing Kallen. She never spared a glance at him, but that wasn't enough to confirm if she remembers anything from the previous timeline or not. He'll have to confront her in the schoolyard during lunch break, but this time he must proceed carefully.

* * *

Standing in the hallway, Lelouch was waiting for the redhead to go and hide behind the bush outside. He then heard girlish screams about some bee and shortly afterwards, he heard Kallen complaining about living as an invalid. The Britannian prince remained there for a while to hear what she was saying.

"I wonder if that Zero person is going to contact us again," Sighing, she shook her head. "Who am I kidding? There is no way he can contact us."

The young man grimaced. _It seems that she doesn't remember anything after all..._ He then sighed and straightened himself before walking outside into the schoolyard. Just then, he turned to his left, and his eyes met hers. He smiled at the shorter girl. "Miss Kallen Stadtfeld, right?"

She blinked her blue eyes before nodding slowly. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"I've been wondering, would you like to join our Student Council?"

"Student Council?"

"Yes," He nodded. "You see, every student in Ashford must be in at least one club, and since your health doesn't let you take part in strenuous activities, we found it better if you join our Student Council because it is less stressful." _Except the paperwork and Milly's parties and festivals._

"I see," The blue-eyed half-breed seemed to be considering this, then made a small smile and nodded. "Sure I'd love to join the Student Council." _Hopefully it won't hinder me from my duties towards Japan._

"Great," The former heir smiled. "I'll take you to the clubhouse tomorrow after school hours."

Just then, a certain orange-haired girl called both of them from a window in a higher floor. "Lulu, Kallen, chemistry class is about to start!"

A red eyebrow was raised in surprise."Lulu?" She asked incredulously, putting her hand in front of her mouth in an attempt to stop herself from laughing.

Surprisingly, a very genuine smile appeared on the mouth of the male student. "It's Lelouch," He stated. "Shirley likes calling me that in an affectionate way."

"Oh, I see."

"Well then, we'd better hurry up or we'll be late for class."

* * *

Later that night, the violet-eyed teen entered his house to see C.C folding paper cranes alongside his sister. He greeted them both and proceeded to sit down. "They're so beautiful." He observed with a smile.

"Yes," Nunnally answered happily. "Miss Sayoko said that if we fold one thousand paper cranes, our wish will be granted."

A mischievous smirk appeared on the older brother's mug. "Really? Then C.C, how about you fold one thousand paper cranes so your mysterious wish will be granted?"

The immortal woman merely shrugged. "It is only a Japanese myth."

The crippled princess and her brother frowned, but for different reasons. The girl frowned because she was sad that it was only a myth, while the boy's frown was because he was annoyed at C.C's answer. He didn't want his precious sister to find out that it was only a myth.

However...

"If that's true, then why are you folding them, Miss C.C?"

"It's because I don't have anything else to do."

The raven-haired boy then stood up, grabbed the green-haired witch's arm and dragged her to his room. "Why did you tell that to Nunnally?!"

"She's way too sheltered because you're always babying her," She stated. "She's fourteen now, so you should stop treating her as a six-year-old."

His violet eyes narrowed; C.C may be right about this. Even though he loves his sister's pure innocence, it may be better if he stops lying to her about some things. That way, he might be able to change her views on Britannia seeing as how she is not as stubborn as his best friend.

"I'll... try." He replied reluctantly.

She raised her eyebrow in slight surprise for a brief moment, but it quickly vanished. "Good boy," The infamous smirk appeared on the golden-eyed immortal's face, but soon it was changed into the usual stoic expression. "By the way, there is another question I wanted to ask you last night, but I forgot about it."

"What is it about?"

"Do you think what you've done to Clovis won't go unnoticed?"

He simply shrugged. "I never counted on it," He replied. "Like I told you before, I already had my suspicions about Emperor Charles knowing about Geass, so it probably won't take him long before finding out that Clovis was geassed." The teenaged former prince folded his arms and smirked. "The mystery that His Majesty must solve is: Who was the one who used their Geass in order to control Clovis?"

C.C remained silent as she remembered what happened yesterday...

* * *

Disguised as Britannian soldiers, the two made their way through the G-1 Base. Upon entering the main room where the Viceroy was, Lelouch immediately activated his Geass before the high generals could react. "Obey me."

"Yes." They all obliged as their irises glowed red, indicating that they've been controlled successfully.

"What?!" The blond prince shouted in fury, not believing that his subordinates would comply to someone after they uttered two words. "Bartley! All of you! Are you out of your minds?!"

The disguised teen ignored his half-brother's angry cries. "You will forget about seeing us here and you will remain outside for fifteen minutes before returning to the base."

"Yes." They complied before walking outside.

"BARTLEY!" The blue-eyed third prince shouted at the top of his lungs in exasperation. "You better come back here or-" He was cut off by a gun aimed at him.

"Now, Your Highness. Losing temper is unsightly for a prince."

The older prince gritted his teeth; his expression was a mixture of fear and anger. "What do you want?"

"First, I want you to call a ceasefire and tell your troops to treat everyone, including the Japanese."

Clovis tried to retort, but as Lelouch tightened his grip on his weapon, the third prince gulped and did as he was told. Sweat was running down his face. The younger former prince then stepped out of the shadows without removing his helmet. Instead, he removed the eyepiece and activated his Geass. "Obey me without question."

"Yes." The artist was under the raven-haired boy's control.

"Here are your orders..."

All this while, C.C was observing the raven-haired seventeen-year-old give the blond prince a very long order with amusement. _So thoughtful._

* * *

She smirked. "Still, I couldn't help but feel impressed by the way you have handled your Geass. You were using it like a pro."

The teenager chuckled lightly; he must be careful or the witch will get suspicious of him. But it's not like he'll be telling her anything about the future any time soon. Heck, he may never tell her anything, even if she does follow him completely. "Believe me, it was very tiresome," He admitted then scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Giving all of these orders at once was like programming a computer."

"Have you even programmed a computer before?"

He shook his head. "Never in my entire life."

 **TBC...**

* * *

 **Well then... what do you think?  
**

 **Some of you have probably been wondering: "Why didn't you let Lelouch tell C.C about the future?" Hint: It's about something that EVERYONE ignores. Don't know what I'm talking about? Figure it out on your own.**

 **About the 'tsunami of empty tin cans'... that was something I dreamed about when I was napping in the afternoon, but instead of Pendragon, it hit New York City XD**

 **Thanks for reading. Please review.**


	3. Zero Begins Again

**Ugh! I am really sorry for the alert! I've deleted the chapter by accident! T_T  
**

 **But you know? This might be a good thing. I did make lots of changes to this chapter, especially the 'Suzaku rescue scene'. Please go and read this chapter again. These changes are important. Again, my deepest apologies for the alert.**

* * *

The next day, Lelouch stuck to the event from the original timeline which involved bringing Kallen to the Student Council's clubhouse, and like last time, she remarked that she didn't know such a place was in the academy. Just then, Milly entered the premises with a moving tray that had lots of delicious-looking food on it.

The former prince took the opportunity to speak before Milly could. "It seems that Madame Prez prepared all kinds of goods for your inauguration party."

The older female raised an eyebrow. "Wait a minute; how did you know I was going to include Kallen in the Student Council?" Very shortly after asking that question, her infamous, mischievous grin appeared on her face. "Maybe... you actually like her?"

A small blush appeared on the redhead's face... as well as a tiny frown. This Britannian boy told her that he was including her in the Student Council because she was 'frail' and 'weak' and other clubs would prove to be too 'strenuous' for her. But now it seems he has 'ulterior motives'. She should have expected nothing less from a Britannian pretty boy. As if she would fall in love with a Britannian of all people!

While the scowl on the biracial teenager's mug went unnoticed by the female president, the vice-president noticed it and almost smirked because he knew that she did feel disgusted at the thought of liking a Britannian... which was ironic considering the fact that she DID fall in love with him eventually. _I feel like a mind-reader._

But immediately after thinking that, the handsome mug of the former prince paled as he remembered something, or more specifically someone VERY important. Only one name came to his mind. _Mao._ The former 'contractee' of C.C. _How am I going to deal with this bastard?! He could read my mind and know EVERYTHING._ A deep frown appeared on his lips. _And instead of going after Shirley or Nunnally, he could easily go after one of my other friends..._ He certainly did not want that to happen.

Both girls noticed how the expression on Lelouch's face changed so quickly. From a serious to an aghast to an annoyed or frustrated expression. The blonde young lady pouted in worry, but the 'heiress' of the Stadtfeld family grimaced, and this time, it was visible. _And now he doesn't want me? Typical Britannian._

"Lelouch, I don't think Kallen's that bad."

That snapped him out of his thoughts and brought him back to reality. He shook his head. "It's not like that, Madame Prez," He assured her before turning to the shorter girl. "Kallen, don't mind the president, please," The young man told her in a kind tone. "She likes teasing people and antagonizing them, but she usually means no harm. Just go with it."

The half-Britannian young woman blinked her sapphire eyes before nodding. "Okay." _You didn't mention that one detail when you explained to me what the Student Council was about._ She thought in annoyance.

Soon enough, the other members joined the party, and just like last time, Rivalz brought a bottle of Champagne. Before Shirley could snatch the bottle from his hand, Lelouch took it. "No Champagne."

"Wha?!" Not only the blue-haired boy was shocked, but also the rest of the council. "Since when did you become a goody-two-shoes?!"

"Well, the cork could fly and someone could get soaked."

"Oh come on!" The shorter boy whined. "Don't be such a party pooper! Give me that bottle!" The blue-haired boy tried to yank it.

As the two pulled the bottle from the hands of the other one, enough liquid gathered in the bottleneck and the cork went flying, hitting Lelouch's chin and soaking him with Champagne in the process. Everyone went silent as they looked at the now wet vice-president, who had an annoyed expression on his face. "Uh... sorry... pal."

* * *

 **Zero Begins Again**

"But why should I be the one to bring him his clothes?" Kallen asked, trying as hard as she could to hide her disapproved tone behind her 'ill girl' persona. "It's Rivalz's fault, so he should be the one to take Lelouch's clothes to him."

"Well, because it was your inauguration party, I decided that you're the one who's supposed to be taking the clothes to Lelouch." Milly stated sweetly.

 _I suppose I should 'just go with it', huh?_ With a frown, she reluctantly took the clothes and walked to the bathroom.

After the redhead left, the female president cracked her infamous grin once again. "It seems that Sayoko already ships these two." She chuckled lightly.

The half-Japanese resistance member walked in a huff towards the bathroom. "This is why I hate Britannians." And he even has a Japanese maid! She doesn't seem to be an Honorary Britannian, but she also despised these so-called Japanese who work for Britannians. Just like her own mother.

But as she looked back, Lelouch has a crippled and blind younger sister, Nunnally. There was no way he would be able to take care of her all by himself. But couldn't they just hire a Britannian maid like them?

When she reached the bathroom, she knocked on the door. "Lelouch, it's me, Kallen." She heard him saying 'Enter' and did the deed. The resistance fighter saw him showering from behind the curtain and frowned. _Doesn't he eat?_ As a Britannian, he should have stuffed himself with all the 'luxurious' food and looked like a pig, but nope. He looked more like a walking stick.

As the young freedom fighter put the clothes in a basket, the phone suddenly rang, startling her. The half-Japanese girl couldn't help but wonder: Why in the world would anyone put a phone in a bathroom?

"Kallen, can you please answer the phone?"

"Um, sure." She walked to the phone and answered. "Hello?"

 _"Glad to see you alive and well, Q-1."_

The proud Japanese young lady gasped in shock; it was the voice from Shinjuku! How did he know that she was a student in Ashford Academy?! Just who was this guy?!

 _"Meet me tomorrow in Tokyo Tower at 16:00 PM. Bring your friends if you want to."_

"Wait! Hold on!" But he ended the call. A still shocked Kallen couldn't quite understand what just occurred. She felt the adrenaline rush through her entire body, and her heart beating rapidly.

"Kallen?" Came the black-haired boy's voice from behind the curtain. "Who was that?"

"I guess it was a wrong number..."

"Oh, okay."

Back in the Lamperouge household, a certain Japanese maid was seen holding a recorder to a phone. She smiled after the call ended. "My, Master Lelouch thought this through, didn't he?"

* * *

Last night...

"Kallen Stadtfeld?"

"Yes," Lelouch replied. "She is a half-Britannian half-Japanese student who excuses herself from school by pretending to be a sickly girl in order to fight the Britannian forces with her friends."

Brown eyes widened in surprise before quickly recovering. "And you learned all of that by using your Geass on her?"

He sighed. "It was regrettable, but I really had no choice," He shook his head. "I had to know why would a Britannian student fight alongside some Japanese terrorists, and besides, her piloting skills were incredible." He remarked in awe. "Knightmare pilots like her don't fall out of the sky just like that."

"So, what are your plans with her?"

"Well, I presume that Rivalz is going to bring a bottle of Champagne to her inauguration party," The former prince of Britannia began. "I will try to yank the bottle from him until the cork flies and I get soaked with liquor."

Once again, the Japanese young maid was stunned. He was willing to go this far just to get this girl on his side? But he did say that she was a very gifted Knightmare pilot... She didn't interrupt him and so he continued. "And if Milly comes to you asking for clothes, give her the clothes and convince her to make Kallen bring them to the bathroom."

"And then?"

"It will take her at least one minute to reach the bathroom," He replied. "Once you finish counting, call the phone in the bathroom while putting this near it." He gave her a black recorder. "This has a record of my voice. The reason why I'm doing this is because this action will not make her suspect that I was the person who helped her and her cell fight the Britannian forces in Shinjuku. With me taking a shower and having the record of my voice call her at the same time, she won't tell that I was the one who helped her. And also to tell her about our meeting place."

The young maid couldn't help but stare in awe at her liege. She knew that he was a genius, but how far he thought this out impressed her even more. Lelouch noticed that and smirked at her. "You haven't seen anything yet, Sayoko."

* * *

Lelouch walked out of the bathroom wearing his casual clothes. As he entered the council's room, his sister cried, "Lelouch, it's awful!" Just like the first time.

"What happened?"

"Someone tried to kill Prince Clovis!" Milly exclaimed.

On TV, a very familiar scene was unfolding. The young Japanese pilot of the advanced Knightmare was being dragged by military soldiers while wearing a white straight jacket.

 _"I repeat! Suzaku Kururugi arrested for attempted murder on Prince Clovis!"_

A smirk appeared on the young man's face. Apparently, everything was going according to his plan... whatever it was.

* * *

Later that night, Lelouch was seen tucking his sister in her bed, a disturbed look was on her face. The tall teen frowned, even though he knew why she was sad. "What's wrong, Nunnally?"

"Suzaku did survive the war after all, huh?" She asked. "But I'm pretty sure he didn't do such a thing to Brother Clovis."

"Yeah, I agree," He winced and remained silent for a brief moment, but then sighed. "Nunnally, even if there were witnesses saying that Suzaku was somewhere else when the true culprit attacked Clovis, all of the Britannian higher-ups will dismiss them and won't take them into consideration."

A worried look appeared on the blind girl's face, and that caused her older brother to feel sorrowful. Before he could speak, she spoke up. "But Brother Clovis is a kind man," She stated. "He won't let them execute Suzaku even if he DID try to kill him!"

The violet-eyed youngster merely stood up and turned away from her. He did promise C.C that he will try to make his precious sister more aware of the true nature of Britannia. Her innocence might vanish eventually, but unlike the way it disappeared, or more specifically, KILLED in the previous timeline, he will make sure that she becomes less naive and more knowledgeable about the outside world. The handsome prince turned back to his sister. "Something tells me that Clovis is no longer the kind and doting brother we've known, Nunnally," He told her. "Time changes people, after all."

The scowl never left the pretty face of the crippled princess, and she remained silent for a short while. "Brother, do you hate our siblings for not doing anything about us and Mother?"

The violet-eyed young man noticed that she included all of their siblings and not only the Viceroy. "Well... no, not really."

The wavy-haired former princess moved her head down as if she was looking at her hands. "You know, I believe they all love us, Lelouch," She pointed out. "And the reason why they didn't do anything was because they were afraid of Father."

"Yeah, I wouldn't doubt that," The young man knew that was one of the main reasons, but there were other reasons such as losing the right to the throne and looking down on him and his sister because their mother was a commoner by birth. "But when it comes to people who are not Britannian, they treat them as if they are lower than dirt. This is the policy and beliefs that the Emperor built the Holy Britannian Empire on: To look down on and mistreat others simply because you are Britannian and they're not, and there's also his strong belief in Social Darwinism." Lelouch knew the truth behind his father's motives, but he refrained from telling his sister for obvious reasons. He then held her hands. "Nunnally, I'm sorry I kept all of this from you. But it was for your own sake. I didn't want you to know about the terribleness of Britannia."

His sister remained silent for a short while before speaking. "I knew that the outside world isn't a pleasant one," She admitted. "But I believe that maybe... it could be changed for the better... by changing the Britannian system from the inside."

His best friend's exact words. At first, the teen-aged prince thought it was naive and preposterous to do such a thing, but it turned out that the brown-haired Japanese wasn't completely wrong. _It's just that Suzaku wasn't the right person to do it._ "Yes, it could, but there's only one way in order to do that."

"What is it?"

"If someone is capable enough and benevolent takes the throne."

A loud gasp of shock was let out from the young lady's mouth. "You're going to take the throne, Lelouch?!"

He let out a small chuckle. "No way," He replied. _Probably._ "But I hope that someone who has these traits will take the throne in the near future."

A small frown appeared on the face of the younger sibling. "Brother, do you think Suzaku will somehow be... saved from his execution?"

"Well... only if a miracle happens," He caressed his sister's sandy-brown locks gently. "Now, good night, Nunnally."

"Good night, Big Brother."

After he walked out of her room and closed the door behind him, Lelouch leaned on the door and looked up; a sad smile was on his face. _Idiot._ He insulted himself. _You still believe that your Geass, strategies and tactics are the works of miracles? Why did I let myself believe miracles could happen in the first place?_

* * *

The teen-aged royal opened the door to his room, only to see C.C munching on a slice of pizza from her second box. _Huh. And here I thought it was her fourth._

"You know, you never told me why did you frame Suzaku Kururugi for threatening Clovis." The immortal woman asked almost nonchalantly, not sparing a look at the boy.

The violet-eyed boy merely folded his arms. "And you know what?" He asked rhetorically. "For a woman who doesn't want to answer questions, you sure ask lots of them," He remarked before shrugging. "But I suppose I shouldn't complain, right? After all, I believe that's how immortals act like."

That caused her to stop eating and turn to him. "What do you know about me and immortals in general?"

"I know nothing," _Previously._ "I just assumed that immortals are always bored and uncaring about the world. But when they do find someone they deem 'fascinating', they take interest in them."

The witch smirked. _I guess arrogance runs in the family._ "Silly boy," She said. "What makes you think I am fascinated by someone like you?"

"I don't think you're fascinated by someone like me," He stated. "I KNOW that you're fascinated by someone like me." He smirked back at her.

The lime-haired woman kept staring silently at him; her bored expression was still on her face. "You have a wild imagination, boyo," She commented before going back to guzzling her pizza. "So, are you still going to tell me why you framed Kururugi?" She inquired. "I do find it strange that you would frame the man who had sacrificed himself to save you," She put her right index finger to her lips in thought. "Now that I recall, you presumed that he died after that officer shot him for not obeying his orders... or maybe you knew all along that Kururugi survived that bullet?"

Lelouch stared tiresomely at the persistent immortal. Typical C.C. He turned his head away from her. "Just like you have no obligation to answer my questions, I also have no obligation to answer yours."

The green-haired woman almost frowned; Marianne's son was really cautious and not very trusting of others. But then again she had to admit he was right. She was keeping her relationship with both of his parents a secret from him, as well as her connection to their plan, a plan to end the world as they know it. If their son ever finds out about it, he will do everything in his power to stop it. But as interesting as he was, how will he prevent such a plan from occurring? For now, the woman will keep quiet but keep a watchful eye on the boy. "Fine. I won't ask any more questions. Happy?"

"Satisfied." He confirmed with a smile.

* * *

In the government bureau, a chubby man was pacing around restlessly. Sweat was running down his face. It looked like he was seriously worried about something, and he really couldn't be blamed for that because that man was Bartley Asprius, the man who told Prince Clovis to send troops in order to find the gas canister that contained the most important part of Code-R, the immortal woman C.C. _It seems that someone did manage to open the canister and obtain a Geass from the immortal woman,_ Yes, he knew about Geass, unsurprisingly. _That person then controlled Prince Clovis and put the blame on that Kururugi boy, but who could it be?_ He gritted his teeth in frustration. _A Geass that can control other people and turn them against their will... how troublesome... how TROUBLESOME indeed..._ _  
_

Suddenly, he heard a knock on the door and told the person knocking to enter. The bulky man was surprised to see Jeremiah Gottwald enter, a serious expression was on his face. "Well, well, well," He began, forcing a huge smile on his face to hide his anxiety. "If it isn't the hero who captured the criminal!"

"Spare me the praise, Bartley," The teal-haired man told the bald man sternly. "I have some questions and I need some answers, and you better respond with honesty."

The stout man gulped at that; he didn't have a good feeling about this. "S-s-sure."

"What is Code-R?" The orange-eyed man began with the most important question. "And is it true that the thing in the gas canister wasn't actually gas but a girl?"

Shock washed on the general's face. Panic began running through his entire being, and he started sweating bullets. "I-I-I-I-how-h-how-"

When Asprius started stuttering, Jeremiah grabbed him by the collar and made sure that the tanned man's face was mere inches away from his. The panicking man gulped. "Bartley, Prince Clovis has been making lots of unwise decisions lately," He pointed out to him. "I want you to tell me every vital and significant piece of information that will let me prevent His Highness from making more questionable decisions so he won't be demoted or even worse, disinherited."

Even though he was scared of the Margrave at the moment, Bartley knew that he was right. But what could the leader of the Purists do against the power of Geass? He sighed and slowly pushed Jeremiah's hands away from him. "First of all, you must keep what I'm about to say a secret from everyone because it's very confidential and if this information gets to the Emperor, this will be more than enough of a reason for His Majesty to disinherit Prince Clovis."

Orange eyes went wide in shock. "The Emperor has no knowledge of this project?!"

The general shook his head. "The canister had a girl in it and this girl is the most important part of Code-R," He began explaining. "We were conducting experiments on her because she is immortal."

"Immortal?" The Margrave repeated in disbelief. "That's not possible."

"It is the truth," The chubby man insisted. "We have fatally wounded her several times, only to see her injuries healing in a short period of time."

The teal-haired man frowned at that, disgusted at the fact that they would go as far as fatally wound someone in order to prove something. He ignored that for now. "But where did you find her? And for how long have you been conducting experiments on her?"

"I'm not really sure where did we find her, and we've been doing this for a few years now," He replied. "However, that's the only information we've gathered so far, unfortunately." _It's better if Jeremiah doesn't know about Geass. Otherwise, he will gain the power for himself and rise through the ranks._

All of a sudden, orange eyes widened as a thought crossed his mind. "Bartley, I know what happened with Prince Clovis!"

The bald man blinked in surprise. "Huh?"

"She's the one who threatened His Highness," Jeremiah began explaining. "Of course, she wanted to take revenge on him for conducting all those experiments on her by threatening him." He then put his hand under his chin in thought. "I received a report saying that Kururugi was the one who accidentally opened the canister and released her." He shook his head. "Ungrateful woman, telling His Highness to accuse the man who released her of attacking and threatening the prince. But then again, she must've done that because she knew that he was the son of the last Prime Minister of Japan before it became Area 11, and his death will make the Elevens consider him a hero." He turned to Bartley. "What do you think, Bartley?"

All this time, the chubby general was staring at the taller man in bewilderment. Even though C.C has every right to go and threaten the blond prince, it wasn't enough to make him submit to her completely. Of course, he what really happened to the Prince, but he didn't want the Margrave to know that.

"I wouldn't doubt that she was the one leading the terrorists in Shinjuku," The more muscular man continued. "And she will most likely be the one to save Kururugi from his execution. What a truly despicable woman. Saving the very man she accused to make herself a hero to the Elevens, which also means that Kururugi won't be the hero." He smirked. "I shouldn't be surprised if she did those things. After all, centuries of loneliness and watching people die while she was unable to made her heart as solid as a rock."

The tanned man raised an eyebrow in surprise, not expecting that at all. "Um, how do you know about how immortals feel, Jeremiah?"

"Isn't that obvious?" He asked with a grin. "Fictional works, my dear Bartley. Fictional works."

The bald man sweat-dropped. "... right."

"So, what does she look like?"

"W-Well, she has long green hair and golden eyes," The plump man began. "She's about average height."

"What about her facial features? I bet she looks like an old lady."

"Not at all. She looks like she's in her teens."

Again, orange irises went wide in shock. "Unexpected..." He merely blurted out.

Worry washed on the obese man's face once again. _We are currently working on developing the Geass Canceller,_ He thought. _Jeremiah seems to be the perfect candidate for that, but... he must know about Geass first..._ Something that the bald man didn't want to happen in the first place, ironically.

* * *

The next day, for the meeting with Kallen and her friends, Lelouch didn't really change the script from the original timeline. _But, I have to change some words DURING the meeting._

Right now, he was standing in the train, wearing his original Zero outfit. He had to admit that the dark purple suit was more comfortable than the suit he wore during his second rebellion. His back was facing the sliding door that Kallen's resistance group will enter from soon. He then heard the sliding doors open as the resistance group entered. They started asking him questions, and of course he didn't answer them. When the train entered a tunnel and everything turned dark, he turned around to face them, startling them. "Greetings. My name is Zero."

"Zero?" The Afro-haired man, Kaname Ohgi repeated.

"But obviously that's not your real name, right?" Kallen asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Indeed it is not," The masked man confirmed. "Now tell me, did you grasp the difference between the settlement and the ghetto?"

The leader of the resistance, Ohgi stepped forward. "We know the difference between us and them is a huge one," He replied. "That's why we-"

"Resist them?" Zero cut him off. "If you believe that resistance against Britannia will get you anywhere, then you are very mistaken. You must wage a war against Britannia, but in order to do that, you must know who is your enemy first. Britannia is your enemy, NOT the Britannians."

"How can we wage a war with our limited resources?" A blue-haired man, Kento Sugiyama retorted. "We don't have the power to do such thing!"

"If you lend me your help, we will be able to overcome our enemies," Zero extended his right arm to them. "With my strategies and tactics, I will lead you to victory. What do you say?"

At this moment, the rebellious young lady stepped forward; the expression on her face matched the one she had in the last timeline during this meeting: Angry and suspicious of him. "We already have a leader and that's him!" She pointed at the man with the Afro hair and then folded her arms in irritation. "Why should we trust a man who's hiding behind a mask and make him our leader?!"

As Sugiyama and another man named Toru Yoshida who had brown hair agreed with the fiery redhead, the leader of the resistance felt conflicted. While his comrades were right about not trusting someone who was hiding their face, he had to admit that he was not fit to be a leader, something that he had pondered to himself about the night before.

Before Ohgi could say anything, the disguised man spoke up. "Humph," He huffed as he folded his arms; the others noticed that despite the fact that his arms were hidden beneath his cape. "And who said that I trust you?" He retorted back; his voice was somewhat laced with contempt. "I live in a world where I know I cannot trust people. What if you decided to betray me? What if you decided to sell me out to our enemies if I became a huge threat to Britannia? How do I know if you're not going to be led astray by false pretenses from Britannians?" He almost shouted the last question.

The four members of the resistance looked at each other nervously; they had to admit that he did make some valid points. The expression of Lelouch behind the mask softened as he looked at the only female in the group. "I know you have people who left this world while fighting for a dream," He stated. "And with my power, I can help you in realizing that dream. However, I cannot do it alone. One man cannot defeat an entire empire on his own for he needs an army to bring it down." Once again, he extended his right arm. "What do you say? Will you be part of my army and help me take down Britannia?"

Even though she couldn't see his face, the young woman felt as if he was addressing her specifically. It's like the faceless figure in front of them knew that she was the one in particular who had lost someone precious to her. She exchanged looks with Ohgi; can this man really make Naoto's dream come true?

And again, the masked man continued. "I also dream of a world purged of Britannia's tyranny... a world where kindness can also be shown to strangers."

Upon hearing this, both the redhead and the black-haired man's eyes widened. Yup, that was Naoto's dream. All of a sudden, the youngest one felt as if she could trust this man, that he would truly make her deceased brother's dream become a reality. She walked even closer to Zero, just not close enough. "Zero, my older brother died for the dream you spoke of..." She told him sorrowfully. "And no one ever declared before that they would wage a war against Britannia to make this dream become a reality... until now. That's why... I want to help you, Zero." She smiled genuinely at him.

The other three members looked at her in shock. "K-Kallen..." Ohgi stuttered.

A pained expression appeared on the face behind the mask. _You have always been loyal to me, Kallen,_ He sighed inwardly, feeling regret for not trusting her more previously. _And when I said that I know you have people who died while fighting for a dream, I was only talking to you, because out of all the Black Knights, you're the one who truly deserves to live a happy life._ "Thank you, Q-1."

Sugiyama leaned to Yoshida. "I always thought Naoto's dream was a fool's errand." He muttered.

"Couldn't agree more."

The teenager heard their mumbling and turned back to glare at them, causing them to flinch. Before they could say something to defend themselves, the irate girl shrieked. "My brother was not a fool!" She huffed. "Don't you dare talk ill of him ever again!"

As they apologized to the girl, the Afro-haired man shook his head in disapproval. Behind his mask, the former prince of Britannia scowled. _They didn't even have faith in their former leader, something I never knew,_ He reflected. _I'll keep that in mind... in case things get dark._

* * *

Back in the Lamperouge Residence, C.C was seen lying on Lelouch's bed, staring at the wall while swinging her legs up and down. Surprisingly, she wasn't surrounded by empty boxes of pizza, and there wasn't even an open box with a half eaten one, or even a slice in her hand.

 _"C.C? Are you there?"_

The look on the immortal witch's face remained unchanged. "Yes."

 _"I was worried because you didn't contact me in a couple of days."_

"I was busy getting to know more about the one whom I gave a Geass to."

 _"I see. So, what did you know about them?"_

"He's a young man who's very interesting."

 _"... that's not what I wanted to know, though I do find it surprising that you finally found someone who is 'interesting' enough for you."_

As the pizza-loving woman remained silent, the unknown talker spoke. _"What else did you find out about him?"_

"He's not very trusting of others and is very cautious."

 _"Many people are like that. What's his name?"_

"His name is-"

Suddenly, the door swung open, causing the witch to turn her head to see who had just 'entered'. It was none other than Lelouch, carrying a big shoulder bag which without a doubt had that peculiar-looking outfit in it. His face showed that he was annoyed, or more accurately, angry. It was obvious to her that he heard her talking, though he doesn't seem surprised that no one was in the room and she wasn't holding a cellphone. "You're back," She said casually, trying to avoid the subject. "How did the journey go?"

The Britannian youth folded his arms. _I should've dealt with this sooner._ "You know, I find it quite ironic that an immortal witch can communicate with the dead," He stated in a snarky tone with a hint of exasperation. "You better not communicate with that... 'specter' ever again." His tone sounded as if he was threatening her.

The golden-eyed woman shrugged indifferently. "And why should I listen to you?" She inquired.

"Maybe you'll change your mind after hearing this: I won't make your wish come true."

C.C's expression remained passive, albeit with a hint of seriousness. "You wouldn't dare."

"Watch me," The black-haired boy closed the door behind him and pulled something from his bag, a handgun. He pointed it at his temple, almost causing the usually emotionless girl's eyes to widen in shock. "Before I got my Geass from you, my life had no meaning," He began. "I was merely a hollow shell, and I felt as if each day drained a little amount of my life energy. It was more akin to slow death, and the only reason as to why I continue to live is my sister Nunnally." That used to be the case, and then lots of people -whether he knew before he began his quest or after- started to mean something to him. But then again... "However, when I got my Geass, I realized that if I don't do anything, I may not only lose my sister but also the friends I came to care for. If I were to go back to a life like that, then I'd rather..." His finger started to slowly pull the trigger...

"Wait!" The ageless woman jumped from the bed. "I understand. You were living a life without meaning, and you also figured out that you will lose your loved ones if you don't do anything." _You knew that the person I was talking to will pose a threat to you as you probably deduced that they may have a connection to Charles, thus putting your sister and friends in danger.  
_

The boy with the violet eyes nodded at her. "Now that you understand, can you please sever your connection with whoever that was?"

She shrugged. "Sure," But then her eyes turned serious. "But that won't stop them from trying to discern the identity of the one whom I gave a Geass to. They could also come to the conclusion that Zero is the one I gave a Geass to."

"Still, they will remain in the dark about Zero's true identity." _At least for the time being._

* * *

It was the time of the execution. Prince Clovis la Britannia was sitting on a mobile throne with a communication device attached to his right ear, with four Sutherlands in front surrounding a vehicle which had Suzaku Kururugi on it. He was wearing a white straitjacket with two soldiers holding rifles standing over him. From a logical point of view, having two soldiers pointing rifles at a man whose hands were tied behind his back was... not very smart. Not to mention that he had a collar on to his neck that prevented him from speaking.

Lelouch wondered why would they do something like this, but then again the Britannians in the military weren't known for their high intelligence... with the exception of his sister Cornelia and Villetta Nu. He was glad that he got rid of the latter early on, and he hoped that he won't have to deal with the former if the Emperor saw his half-brother unfit to rule Area 11.

People from around the world sat down to watch the execution parade, and that also included the Student Council of Ashford Academy. But more interestingly, Nunnally was also there even though she couldn't see and standing behind her was... Lelouch? Or was it really Lelouch? _Master Lelouch... be careful._ Guess who?

The crippled young lady was wearing a frown on her face; she was obviously worried for her convicted childhood friend, and her big brother's words didn't make her feel at ease either. _Oh, Suzaku...  
_ She moved her right hand to grip her 'brother's'. As she did, however, she frowned. _This hand... this is Miss Sayoko's hand! But the voice is my big brother's! What's going on...?_

Back to the parade, Jeremiah Gottwald, who was leading the execution got a call from one of the soldiers telling him that a vehicle was approaching and it looked like Prince Clovis'. The teal-haired Purist grinned before speaking on the communication device. "Your Highness, I received some Intel telling me that someone is approaching while disguising their vehicle to look like your personal carriage," He reported. "Shall we stop here?"

"Yes, please do, Jeremiah." The blond prince confirmed.

The vehicle carrying the Honorary-Britannian and Knightmares came to a halt after hearing the leader of the Purists' order. Said man then demanded the 'disrespectful' people to show themselves, only to see the Britannian flag on top of the car burning away, revealing a figure wearing a strange outfit and a mask, causing the crowd to gasp in surprise and orange eyes to widen before the owner of said eyes grinned. _A disguise to hide your identity and gender, eh?_ He thought. _Clever, but it won't last for long._

Behind the mask, the teenager scowled as he saw the man before him grin. _Why is he grinning?_ He asked himself in slight worry. _Is it possible that he also came back from the future?_ That would've been VERY beneficial to the revolutionary prince, but seeing as how the loyal man didn't contact him at all, he deduced that Jeremiah didn't come back. "I am Zero."

And everything unfolded similarly to the last timeline. Jeremiah ordering four Sutherlands to surround the fake vehicle, him demanding Zero to remove his mask only for the masked man to snap his fingers and reveal a gas canister. At first, the teal-haired man's eyes widened, but his now infamous grin appeared on his face once again. _You thought I didn't know what that canister contained, didn't you?_ He asked. _And because of that, you decided to use it to make us believe that you've taken everyone here a hostage._ Soon enough, his grin was replaced by a deep frown as he realized something. _But because the canister is now empty... she could've filled it with REAL poison gas! This is not good!_ He gritted his teeth as he pointed his gun at the masked man. "What are you planning to do with that?!"

The one hiding behind the mask couldn't help but feel uneasy upon seeing the orange-eyed man's changing expressions. From a grin to a scowl to a grit of teeth that ended with him aiming his weapon at the young man. Not to mention him asking that question before Lelouch could taunt him thus causing him to ask what he wanted. "Relax. All I want to do is a simple exchange: This for Suzaku Kururugi."

"You're insane!" The Purist exclaimed. "This man tried to kill Prince Clovis! There's no way I would hand him to you!"

"That's alright, Jeremiah. He can have Kururugi."

Everyone turned their heads towards the one who said that, Viceroy Clovis la Britannia. They were shocked to hear the prince issue such an order. After all, he just told his subordinates to release the man who had threatened to kill him. While the soldiers who were aiming their rifles at Kururugi were confused at first, they proceeded to remove the ties from the former Japanese young man's wrists. "STOP!" Only to stop after hearing the Purists' leader's shout.

"J-Jeremiah," A blond-haired Purist, Kewell Soresi stuttered. "What are you doing?! You're disobeying an order from Prince Clovis!"

The former prince smirked at the irony of the current situation. Previously, the man with the orange eyes demanded his subordinates to release Kururugi due to the influence of Zero's Geass, with Kewell asking his leader what was he doing. Now, Jeremiah was the one stopping his subordinates from releasing the accused man while the blond Purist protested about his leader not obeying the orders of a royal prince.

Still... "YOU! I know you're the one who tried to kill His Highness!" The teal-haired Margrave lowered his gun and pointed his free hand at the masked man.

This revelation stunned everyone present, and then the blond subordinate turned to Jeremiah once more. "W-What are you saying, Jeremiah?!"

"Kewell, this man- no... this WOMAN was the one who tried to assassinate Prince Clovis."

Now everyone was completely floored by what the Margrave said. Elsewhere, Bartley was seen palming his face. "That idiot," He muttered. "I told him to not spill the beans!"

The violet eyes of the exiled prince widened in utter disbelief. _W-W-W-Woman?!_ Where the hell did that come from?!

"H-How do you know that?!" Kewell asked, still not convinced.

The furious Purist immediately calmed down once he realized that he had said too much. He did promise the stout general to not tell anyone about the immortal woman. _Damn it! I have to think of something quick!_ He promptly found an explanation. "A female prisoner was reported to have escaped few days ago," He began. "That woman probably took this opportunity to reach Prince Clovis and threatened to kill him if he doesn't abide to her demands. She told him to accuse Kururugi to make him look like a hero to the Elevens, and then swoop in to 'save' him and make herself the 'true' hero."

More gasps were heard in the crowds of people. Even the 'Elevens' who were watching this at home were also shocked to hear such a thing. One Japanese man who had very short red hair groaned and slammed his fist on the table in front of him. That man's name was Shinichiro Tamaki. "Damn it! Why did Ohgi and Kallen agree to help this wench?!" The rest of the members couldn't help but agree with their comrade.

Inside the car, Kallen who was dressed as a chauffeur like last time looked up. Her sapphire blue eyes narrowed behind the shades she wore. "Zero... it's not true... is it...?" She asked herself in a whisper; her faith was somewhat shaken by the revelation from the teal-haired Britannian. Her hands started shaking while gripping the steering wheel... but after a short while, her hands relaxed as she shook her head. _Get a grip, Kallen!_ She chided herself. _Britannians are liars. He could be saying all of this to make Zero look bad in the eyes of the Japanese._

Elsewhere, Ohgi who was in the truck on the bridge gritted his teeth. "Why did we agree to help this guy...?" He asked himself in regret. "He's probably just a kid playing hero..." He shook his head.

Suzaku's green eyes hardened into a death glare. _You... you are without a doubt the woman who was in the canister, right?_ He wondered bitterly. _So, not only did you force Prince Clovis to accuse me of trying to kill him, but you also had the audacity to appear and 'save' me from my execution that you yourself were responsible for!_ He gritted his teeth while still retaining his glare. _And what about Lelouch? You better not have hurt him in any way or even worse, killed him. If I find out that you have done something bad to him, I won't hesitate to arrest you if the soldiers agreed to let me go!_

As for Lelouch, his violet eyes widened, but this time, they became big because he figured out how the hell did 'Orange' get to that conclusion. _I see!_ He exclaimed in his head. _He actually figured out that it was C.C inside the canister! But how?! He never knew in the previous timeline!_ Was it possible that some different events occur even when he doesn't do anything? But then, he thought more about it and deduced something else. _Unless someone told him about the content of the canister, though it strikes me as shocking that Clovis' lackeys would tell Jeremiah about Code-R considering how secretive they are._ Well, it seems Clovis's subordinates weren't the most trustworthy bunch after all...

 _Still, I have to give credit to Jeremiah for uncovering most of the truth... even though it will most likely cause me some trouble in the future, whether with Suzaku himself or the Black Knights._ The masked prince thought grimly to himself.

Soresi shot a stern glare at the crowd. "Stop overreacting for the littlest things!" He shouted and then looked at his leader. He rubbed the bridge of his nose to calm himself. "Jeremiah... no prisoner was reported to have escaped the last few days, so don't make these false claims again! This is high treason and you know that very well, Lord Jeremiah."

"But I'm not making false claims, Kewell!" The Margrave turned to face his prince. "Your Highness, you don't have to pretend anymore. Just admit to everyone what I said was true and I promise you that every single soldier standing here will fill this damn terrorist's body with every single bullet from every single gun and riffle that we have here."

"That's enough, Jeremiah!" Kewell exclaimed, having enough of his leader's bantering. "You're making yourself look like a fool!"

The masked prince couldn't help but agree. _This is more humiliating for him than the Orange Incident._ He thought before a frown appeared on his hidden lips. _Still, I'm grateful for that fool Kewell for not believing Jeremiah's claims. I would've been dead if the opposite happened._ Sweat ran down his face; it seems that luck was finally smiling for him again... or at least he hoped so.

The teal-haired purist ignored his subordinate's shouting. "Your Highness! Give us the order!"

"Jeremiah, release Kururugi at once," The viceroy ordered in a monotone voice. "That is the order."

The Margrave's jaw dropped to the ground, and the blond Purist gritted his teeth before turning to one of the soldiers. "You there! Release Kururugi!"

The soldier immediately obeyed, and the angry Suzaku walked down to meet with the one who 'saved' him. "So, are you really a-" His question was stopped by a shock from the collar.

Lelouch frowned again in annoyance. _Even Suzaku thinks I'm a woman._.. _and I shouldn't be too surprised that he's angry, huh?_ Of course, not after everything that Jeremiah said, even with Kewell falsifying his leader's claims.

As Zero, Suzaku and Kallen escaped using wires, the now crazy leader of the Purists tried to go after them by using his Knightmare, but was stopped by the other Knightmares. "What are you doing?!" He demanded, wriggling in their grasp. "Don't let them escape! Let me GO!"

The masked person pressed a button, and on cue, the canister opened. But instead of colored smoke like last time... it actually contained sweets and candies! When the children who were standing on the sidelines saw them piled, their eyes glimmered in joy before rushing to the canister; their parents tried to stop them, but it was futile. After all, how can a parent stop a child when they see sweets piled together?

Suzaku's green eyes widened in disbelief. _S-Sweets?_

"This is a gift from me to you, children!" Zero proclaimed.

"Thanks, Lady Zero!" They all exclaimed in happiness.

Hearing that caused the revolutionary to groan; he didn't even bother to resist the urge to do so. Upon hearing this, the once-convicted man looked at his mysterious 'savior' and realized that Zero wasn't a woman. He raised an eyebrow in surprise; this masked 'woman' was a man after all. The Honorary Britannian then frowned. _Even though you're not the person I expected you to be, something tells me that what Lord Jeremiah had said was true, that you were the one who had tried to kill Prince Clovis if he didn't listen to your demands._ His eyes darkened. _I don't plan to arrest you anymore, but I still want to know some things from you._

"You children! Don't eat that! It could be poisonous!" The frantic Purist roared.

Many kids ignored him and continued to stuff their faces with all kinds of candy, but some of them turned to the teal-haired man, stuck their tongues out and blew raspberries. This made Jeremiah grit his teeth in complete irritation before groaning loudly.

Kewell pinched the bridge of his nose as he had no idea what to do in a situation like this. He turned back to look at the prince. _How can he retain his calmness in these circumstances?_ As much as he hated to admit it, the prince did NOT act like this during a situation like this one. While Prince Clovis was a calm individual most of the time, he would lose his cool and panic when he's under pressure. So, how was it possible for him to remain THIS calm not only during this eventful night, but also for the past few days?! _His eyes are half-open, and he seems so out of it... just what the hell is going on with Prince Clovis?!_

 **TBC...**

* * *

 **So that last scene was something completely random, but let me tell you this. It's preparation for next chapter. Prepare yourselves.**

 **I was going to clear some misconceptions regarding a certain character from CG, but I decided against it.**

 **So, about Sugiyama and Yoshida, I have no idea what they thought of Naoto. That just came out of the blue. No fan of CG has any idea on what the group thought of Naoto when he was the leader, no thanks to the writers. I wish some flashbacks were shown to us about the old days of the resistance. We would've gotten to know more about Kallen's past as well as the others' relationship with their deceased leader, aside from Kallen and Ohgi of course.**

 **Thanks for reading. Please review.**


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